The NYPD is stepping into the 21st Century and giving New Yorkers the tool they need to know what is going on in their neighborhoods.

Mayor Bill de Blasio and Police Commissioner Bill Bratton announced Tuesday the launch of CompStat 2.0, a tool that will offer the public and authorities the access to crime information from throughout the city.

“New York City has the greatest police force in the world, and we’re proud that New Yorkers are safer now than they’ve been at any time in modern history,” de Blasio said. “Today, we’re taking CompStat into the 21st Century — and making our crime numbers clear and accessible for all New Yorkers.

Prior to launch CompStat 2.0, crime data was reported based on the seven major crime categories with no additional information on date, time or specific type of crime within the category.

Now, through visiting compstat.nypdonline.org, the public can access crime data including all the additional information, even down to accurate location mapping down to the closest intersection.

The webpage shows the NYPD crime statistics that have been recorded in the CompStat book, where periods run from Monday through Sunday.

CompStat 2.0 maps out the state’s penal law crimes — which are murder and non-negligent manslaughter, rape, robbery, felonious assault, burglary, grand larceny and grand larceny motor vehicle — and includes crimes recorded by the Port Authority and other police agencies operating within the city.

“CompStat 2.0 changes the way crime data is reported. It provides the ability for anyone to search what matters to them: their street, their neighborhood, their borough,” Bratton said. 

“This sort of clarity is not merely about useful information, it also builds relationships between the police and the community,”

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During Monday’s announcement, officials also focused on the NYPD’s initiative — which was launched last summer — offering smartphones to all police officers. Since its launch, 25,000 phones have been distributed with the remaining phones to be given out by this spring.

Bratton added that through the smartphones and customized NYPD software and mobile applications, police officers have been able to offer faster responses and more informed decisions.

In one recent example, on Jan. 28, multiple employees at banks in the 19th Precinct recognized a known suspect — due to released surveillance photos — wanted for eight bank robberies. 

Anti-crime officers were alerted on their department- issued phones to the attempted bank robberies and responded immediately to the banks before any of it was announced over the radio. 

After using the description and information of the direction the suspect fled, all provided on their phones, the officers were able to catch the suspect blocks away from his last location.

“From launching CompStat 2.0 to giving every officer and patrol car smartphones and tablets, we’re proving once again that the NYPD is the most technologically advanced department in our country,” de Blasio said. 

“These essential tools will help make our police department more accessible, more transparent, and more responsive to New Yorkers across the five boroughs."

By: Angy Altamirano, Metro New York

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[Feature Image Courtesy New York Daily News]